To some, music, art and fine food are the seasonings that enhance life and make it all the more delicious. To yet others, music, art, good food are, in fact, life's essence.

On Nov. 4, The Silo at Hunt Hill Farm celebrates 40 years of offering that extra little something, or life's main course, depending on one's perspective. What started as a culinary outpost on a 300-acre New Milford farm purchased by the late Skitch Henderson, founder of the New York Pops, and his writer/restaurateur wife, Ruth, has grown into a local institution. Over the years, it expanded from a place that people could find the latest cooking accouterments to a cooking school that has hosted everyone from Jacques Pepin to Martha Stewart. Where once the Silo offered two gingerbread-baking and house building classes around the holidays, this year the cooking school will stage about a dozen starting just after Thanksgiving. Many are already sold out.

Like a souffle, the offerings at the Silo and the farmstead on which it sits have expanded with time, matching the Hendersons' myriad interests.

Today, the reach of the Hendersons' 135-acre Hunt Hill Farm extends far beyond foodies. A few years after starting the Silo, the couple launched the Silo Gallery, which hosts about a half dozen visual art exhibits annually. They started offering special programs, from one that cultivates rising talent by affording young musicians audiences to a cabaret night with a singer from New York. They preserved their farmland, adding it to a nearly 500-acre greenway tract.

"We just started with the houses, and then the Silo. We had a restaurant at this time, so I was very close to food," said Ruth Henderson. "One thing led to another and, of course, I knew many good cooking masters like Chef Pepin. I told them what I was doing and they all were interested to come and teach classes."

The couple bought the property in the 1960s after riding through the area and falling for the 300-year-old farm's character. It includes a 172-year-old barn. Initially, the Hendersons purchased the farm as an investment property, but increasingly found themselves spending time there. By 1972 — the year the Silo launched as an epicurean outpost — they took up primary residence at Hunt Hill Farm, which includes two farmhouses, a workers' cottage, two dairy barns, a tobacco barn and other structures that include the cooking school.

Recently, the Silo added a museum that showcases the collections of the late maestro, whose early career including a stint accompanying Judy Garland. Skitch Henderson later advanced to the role of musical director for NBC radio and TV. He regularly appeared conducting the "Tonight" show studio band and bantering with Steve Allen and, later, Johnny Carson. Then came the New York Pops, with which Ruth Henderson remains involved.

"We're celebrating the past as we look to the future," said Liba H. Furhman, Hunt Hill Farm Trust's executive director, noting the Hendersons' love for the property prompted them to take steps starting in 2000 to preserve it. "Part of the preservation is keeping the programs of the Silo alive and, bringing with (its food programs) culture, music, art and literature."

Last year, the Silo launched literary lunches, which Furhman likened to a culinary book club. She said they are looking to expand offerings in the coming year.

"Our cooking classes are more popular than ever," she said, rattling off a list of regionally known chefs who have contributed, from Maria Sanchez of Sweet Maria's Bakery in Waterbury, to William Cosgrove of New Milford's Upper Crust.

Proceeds from the anniversary dinner will be used for future programs, said Furhman. In coming months, Hunt Hill Farm will gather memories from those who have taken lessons, or participated in events at the farm for a scrapbook to document the uniqueness of this place created 40 years ago in the countryside.

Said Ruth Henderson: "Once people have been to one event, they become like friends of ours ... I run into people, even in New York, who have been to a gingerbread class. There are now mothers who themselves did it (as children) years ago and now bring their children."

If You Go

The Silo's 40th Anniversary Party takes place Nov. 4, with cocktails, cake and hours d'oeuvres from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.in The Silo Gallery. Tickets to the cocktail hour start at $40. A dinner will follow, with tickets starting at $100. Pianist Hank Milligan will play favorites on the Steinway piano made for him while music director of NBC. For details, visit hunthillfarmtrust.org.

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More than gingerbread

The cooking classes offered at The Silo in New Milford run the gamut, from the oft-cited gingerbread making classes that start again next month, to ones for budding gastronomes that introduce children of various ages to everything from Indian cuisine to sausage making. For a full list of coming classes and events — including one on harvest pies and tarts and another by Maria Sanchez of Sweet Maria's on holiday cookies — visit hunthillfarmtrust.org or call 860-355-0300.

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Another place to cultivate some culinary acumen locally is at The Kitchen at Whittemore Crossing in Middlebury, where a kitchen made for employees of the large, upscale consignment shop expanded into a full-blown gourmet spread where chefs offer classes. Visit middleburyconsignment.com/kitchen.php or call 203-528-0130 for details.

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The Cuisine with Jill Nicolson Cooking School is held in a renovated 1885 Victorian in Torrington. A state-of-the-art commercial kitchen attracts chefs from around Litchfield County and New England. For details, visit cuisinewithjill. com or call 860-294-1452.

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